


Tunnel Vision

by iwasnthere622



Series: Wolves vs Berserkers [3]
Category: Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Gangsters, Alternate Universe - Post-Apocalypse, Gangs, Gen, Post-Apocalypse, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-06
Updated: 2016-12-06
Packaged: 2018-09-07 00:20:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,534
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8775703
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iwasnthere622/pseuds/iwasnthere622
Summary: Leon slipped in through the back door, maneuvering silently through the narrow passages of the bunker house. Gaia knew why Reno decided to keep this place -- it was dank and dark and creepy, in the middle of the airstrike ruins five miles out of town, with multiple winding corridors that all looped back and crossed each other. It was a nightmare to get through, let alone guard and defend.
Of course, Leon suspected that Reno kept it precisely because it made no sense.





	

Leon slipped in through the back door, maneuvering silently through the narrow passages of the bunker house. Gaia knew why Reno decided to keep this place -- it was dank and dark and creepy, in the middle of the airstrike ruins five miles out of town, with multiple winding corridors that all looped back and crossed each other. It was a nightmare to get through, let alone guard and defend.

Of course, Leon suspected that Reno kept it precisely because it made no sense.

He passed another hidehole, pausing to peer into the darkness for a minute and listen before moving on, trying to find his elusive boss. Moonlight shone through the board slats covering an air vent up ahead and he narrowed his eyes in the light, breathing slow and even and moving silently through the halls.

Two rights and a left later, he heard a crunch and crouched, gun out and eyes scanning, before huffing at a rat scampering past. Of course.

Shaking his head, he tucked away his gun and locked his hands behind his head, back to his stroll through the dark.

Finally, after passing yet another secret hatch to the outside that he didn't even _know_ about, he found Reno. The redhead was standing in the middle of an intersection, seemingly contemplating the ceiling.

"Took you long enough," he said mildly, not bothering to turn and confirm it was Leon.

Leon didn't deign that with a response, glancing up only to confirm that they were, in fact, alone, leaning against the cool metal of the wall.

Eventually satisfied with whatever he was looking at, Reno turned to study Leon, instead. "New piercing?"

Leon ran his tongue over the new hook through his lip, grinning at the feel of the spikes adorning it.

Reno shook his head, amused. "Leon, Leon... what am I gonna do with you?"

"...Send me to Bocco?" Leon suggested helpfully.

Reno snorted. "So you can incite another international incident by killing off the drug cartel's favored son and impeach the president in the same day?"

"Such a fun vacation, though, admit it," Leon grinned.

"It wasn't a vacation, we were trying to ally their territory," Reno answered, but he was grinning, too.

"Well really, Boss, I did you a favor there because they were a bunch of pussies."

Reno laughed. "I suppose you're right about that, the brother did piss himself when he got a look at you."

"What can I say, it's my gorgeous charm." Leon deadpanned.

"Yes, and that's the problem," Reno said mildly, eyes growing serious.

"...You got a problem with my charm?" Leon asked, some steel entering his voice in turn.

"Depends. You trying to charm a Wolf, Squall?" Reno asked, studying Leon carefully.

Leon's eyes narrowed a fraction at his streetname -- his hitman name, the name that goons whispered to each other to scare themselves, the name that caused grown men to flee, the name that dripped with the blood of the guilty and the innocent. He uncrossed his arms, dropping them loose at his sides. "Don't know what you're talking 'bout, Boss."

"No?" Reno asked, cocking his head. Interesting. "Because Marluxia--"

" _Fuck_ Lucy," Leon snarled.

"--said you let a Wolf go the other night," Reno continued, ignoring the outburst. "You do remember that we're trying to take this town from the Wolves, yeah?"

"Berserker territory not big enough for you?" Leon taunted.

"Squall, Squall, you know better than I that it's not about size."

Berserker territory was actually bigger than the Wolf territory, but the way the town was divided, the wolves had all the resources and all the protection, while the Berserkers were fighting on two fronts, forced to cover their backs from the bandits in the ruins and the Wolves in the town. The Berserkers were also forced to rely more heavily on outside shipments, while the Wolves had the few functional farmlands left and could sustain themselves at least minimally without outside aid.

"It's about power," Reno continued. "survival."

"Don't talk to me about _survival_ ," Leon snarled, pushing off from the wall, moonlight glancing off the scar bisecting his face into uneven pieces. "I'm the one who took out Seifer and gave you this place on a fucking silver platter."

"Mm, I know, and that's why you have my gratitude, yeah?" Reno answered with a grin. "You come and go and take side jobs, you think I let anyone else do that?"

Leon half-shrugged, wishing Reno would just get to his point.

"You're our little gang's most valuable asset, which is why we are having this conversion," Reno said after letting the silence stretch. "We need to drive the Wolves out, or kill them."

"I know the plan."

"Then don't get attached to our enemies."

"Says the gang boss with a civilian girlfriend."

"Civilian, not enemy."

"Liability, either way."

"...You may be right," Reno sighed, staring back up into the darkness at the ceiling's peak.

Leon said nothing, letting the silence stretch between them: a minute, two, ten.

"But Elena is still in her medic's training, and until she finishes, she can't join us here." Reno said at last.

Leon snorted, only hearing excuses. "Thought that was what Vexen was for?"

"Hmm, I suppose. Though he's a bit more mad scientist than medic, yeah?" Reno said, turning back to Leon and grinning.

Leon pulled his knife out, leaning back against the wall and using the sharp tip to scratch away at the paint on his nails. "You gonna make a point sometime tonight, Boss? This place ain't exactly a fortress."

"When have I ever made a point?" Reno asked. "As for this place... Yuffie, Sora, and Namine will be giving it a bit of a makeover so that we can start housing some guests."

"Guests?" Leon repeated.

"Mm," Reno hummed, glancing back up at the ceiling. "I'd love to string up some fellows from the south... Did you know that our shipments have been short three pounds for the past two weeks?"

"Oh really now?" Leon asked, honestly surprised their supplier would skim off the top, since he was well aware of Squall's and Reno's reputations.

"Yes. At first, I thought it was your Wolf, but I sent our Pet to keep an eye on him and he wasn't involved in our last shipment."

Leon snarled. "You let the Pet out?"

Reno laughed. "Worried about the Pet running away, or about your Wolf getting hurt? Well, either way, Pet came back because he knew what would happen if he didn't."

"...You should just kill him and get it over with," Leon muttered.

"But he's so much _fun_. Did you know Seifer was fucking him?" Reno asked.

"Obviously," Leon snorted.

"Mm, perhaps, but dearest Hayner thought it was _love_. ...No, our Pet won't leave, because he's still waiting for his chance to kill me." Reno said. "Since you allowed me the honor of slitting Seifer's throat in the end. Oh I'm sure Pet also plots your demise, but I'm the top of his hit list."

"And yet you keep him."

"He's just too entertaining -- his determination not to break makes it all the more fun." Reno grinned.

Leon rolled his eyes. "And some people think I'm the twisted one."

"For quite good reason, Squall. Your calling card is a bit... dramatic."

"Body parts are just as good as any material to spell out your message," Leon answered with a grin, knife flicking along his finger with purpose, his blood tangy in the air for a moment before he was licking it up.

"You know, I can't help but notice you never answered my question," Reno said, watching Leon with detached interest.

"Oh?" Leon asked.

"Yeah," Reno said. "Though I supposed that in itself is answer enough. ...Do a walkthrough tomorrow with Yuffie, I want a full map by the end of the week. I want you involved in this project if only to ensure it'll be impossible to enter without allowance, and equally impossible to _escape_."

Leon eyed the walls with distaste, but he nodded.

Reno turned to head down the hall, listening to Leon fall into step behind him. "Oh, and Leon? Do keep your Wolf on a short leash, yeah?"

"...He's more of a Cub, really." Leon answered at length.

Reno laughed at that, shaking his head. "Just don't pull some Romeo and Juliet stunt and I may let you keep him."

Leon said nothing, because they both knew that when he wanted something, he got it, permission notwithstanding. He was deadly because he did what he wanted when he wanted and no one could hold his loyalty. He'd given it to Reno for now, because he saw the benefit in a leader not drugged out of his mind on his own product and not savage enough to bathe in blood. Balance was a delicate thing and Reno waltzed the wire-thin line as if it was a mile-wide highway, carrying confidence and grace in a way Leon hadn't seen before, and Leon wasn't easy to impress.

So he was a Berserker for now, had helped set Reno up as the Berserker leader, but if something else caught his eye he could and would walk away without regret.


End file.
